Gadding About

3000 metres in minutes. No, not part of a recent marathon attempt, but the rate the A350 airbus starts to drop at from 33000 feet (mixing imperial and metric the fault of BA graphics bods I’m afraid).

Yes Betwixt is back travelling and phew was this necessary..post World Cruises and flights to Spain, I was rather hoping for a spree of sunspots, a panoply of plane popping, when oh no, we were first all forced coviciously covideous, then I became an NHS Alert, ailments and operations mere commonplace to 2021 as antivaxxers are to Loonytown, Arizona, (insert your own locale)…

But back to Feb 2022…. Off I jaunt solo Club World (not a Spice Girls album) to something that so took my fancy and rightly so as it turns out. But more of that later…

Meanwhile back in Heathrow.

“Ere mate, somebody’s done a number two in there” urges my Khazi Attendant pointing out the Business Class Lounge Loo Cubicle I’m about to crap in. “Yes I know. I’m about to do the same” I offer. “Yeah but not in THAT ONE OK?”

Well I’ve had two Nicolas Feuillete champagnes and Half a French Bakery so before my Valium I’d best do what the nice man advises.

Lordy Ms Claudine, haven’t posh bits of posh planes changed since I were a lass. Screens maps 180 movies (not sure about ALL the H. Potter), booze galore, best food I’ve actually been able to taste since My Ops and Covid removed the Right To Vote “Chef of the year” for 18 months…

The wobbly bits (still called turbulence) weren’t too tricksie on this 6.4 hour journey. And flip me, TEXTING AND EMAILS for a fiver the lot, and my old mate Andrew enquiring as to whether he could pop in for a cuppa ACTUALLY rang me with higher than Vodafone quality ! I said nope unless he fancied somewhere 20 thou feet above the clouds…

The cabin crew regularly using the words “I expect you’d like another champagne” (Canard-Duchene) certainly eased this soul unlike no other….

An hour queuing at Dubai International Airport was a bind but hey, got me used to the long lines of folk at the Dubai Expo 2020, a magnificent affair, but more of that later.

Dubai is a rather strange place and for those who don’t know lies inside the United Arab Emirates, m’lud.

Pubs have been replaced by Hotel Bars. Lots of people arrive at their restaurant of choice by 5 million pound luxury sailing vessel. There are Marinas galore (don’t tell Troy Tempest, ** look it up, young people). There are more tall buildings than Ordinary Architects Leave Behind. Some are spectacular.

Some.

There’s a heck of a lot of sand. There’s also a zillion building sites NOT sights. At times it seems a bit like Vegas, or Shanghai (not been to the latter)

So here the 2020 Dubai World Expo was born, but delayed til later in 2021 in a Pandemic Stylee.

There’s more hotels you could Sheikh a Shtick at. And vice versa.

So far, I’ve loved every minute. At least, every minute when I’m not thinking about Ukraine and this World which seems to have an awful lot of awful leaders leading awfully.

I’m on holiday.

Adieu patient listeners.